Thursday, January 26, 2012

Christ taught as one having authority. But what does that mean?

4th
Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mk 1:21-28

The
people were astonished at [Jesus’] teaching, for he taught them as one having
authority and not as the scribes.

Both here in Mark’s Gospel
(which we will read from this Sunday) and in Matthew’s Gospel at the end of the
Sermon on the Mount, the people are amazed at Jesus’ doctrine because he
teaches as one having authority. But
what does this mean? What was different about the way that Jesus taught? And,
finally, how can priests today follow Christ’s example in their preaching?

Christ,
prophet and professor

The Lord Jesus is the “new Moses”,
the prophet spoken of by Moses in Sunday’s first reading (Deuteronomy
18:15-20): A prophet like me with the
LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your kin; to him you shall listen.

The Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5-7) very clearly presents our Savior as the “new Moses”, the new
Lawgiver. St. Mark does the same in this Sunday’s Gospel (which you can read [here]).
The passage begins with Jesus teaching in the synagogue and the people being
astonished at the authority with which he speaks. Then, after the exorcism of
an evil spirit, the people are again astonished at our Savior’s teaching,
saying to one another: What is this? A
new teaching with authority.

Far too often today, people
speak as though our Savior did not come to give any teaching or doctrine, but
was only a “nice guy”. However, the Gospels clearly show that Jesus was known,
during the time of his earthly ministry, as a great teacher and as a prophet.

Christ is truly the Prophet,
the one promised by God to Moses and the people of Israel. And the very word “prophet”
is related etymologically to the word “professor” – for a “prophet” is one who “speaks
in the presence of others”, Latinized from the Greek “pro” (meaning, “before”)
and “phanai” (meaning, “to speak”). And this is precisely the same etymology as
the word, “professor” – “one who speaks in front of others” (namely, in front
of students). The connection between the two words is more clearly seen in “professor”
and “prophecy” (where the “t” has been softened to the “s” sound).

Christ is the Prophet, which
means he is the teacher. Our Savior came to instruct us in doctrine, and
salvation is more than just about being nice, it also requires true and
orthodox belief in what our Lord has taught us.

The
authority with which our Savior teaches

Christ was and is (through his
Church) a teacher, but he does not teach as did the scribes; rather, he teaches
as one having authority. But what does this mean? What set our Savior’s teaching
aparat as being with authority?

St. Theophylus (cited in the Catena Aurea) tells us: “Again, Christ
taught them by rebuke, not by flattery as did the Pharisees; wherefore it says,
And they were astonished at his doctrine;
for he taught them as one having power, and not as the Scribes. He taught
them also in power, transforming men to good, and he threatened punishment to
those who did not believe on Him.”

Further, St. Bede the Venerable
adds: “The Scribes themselves taught the people what was written in Moses and
the Prophets: but Jesus as the God and Lord of Moses himself, by the freedom of
His own will, either added those things which appeared wanting in the Law, or
altered things as He preached to the people; as we read in Matthew, It was said to them of old time, but I say
to you.”

1) He taught important matters of the highest importance and
which are necessary for salvation. But the scribes taught trifling matters of
rites and ceremonies which were passing away, such as the washing of hands and
of cups.

2) What Christ taught in word, he fulfilled in dead. Precisely
because he is without sin, our Lord teaches with the greatest authority those
things which pertain to holiness and salvation.

3) The Lord taught with great spirit and fervor, such that the
words of Scripture could always be applied to him, The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up.

4) The Savior confirmed his teaching by miracles, which the
scribes could not do.

5) The scribes were mere interpreters of the Law, but Christ
is the Lawgiver sent from heaven.

6) While the scribes sought their own glory and the praise
of men, our Lord taught solely for the glory of God and our salvation.

7) Not only by his words and example, but also by the hidden
inspirations of his grace, the good Jesus illuminated the minds and inflamed
the hearts of his hearers. Thus, he made the ignorant to become learned, and
the wicked to become good.

Lessons
for preaching today

In imitation of the Savior, the
priest must preach neither for his own glory nor seeking to be accepted or
thought well of, but for the glory of God and the salvation of his flock. He
must preach with zeal, recalling that his sermon really will have an effect on
the salvation of souls, either for good or ill. Further, the priest must not
preach his own doctrine or opinion, but rather the doctrine of Christ which
nourishes the Church.

Most importantly, the priest
must live a holy life in accord with what he preaches – and, though he be not
perfect, he must at least strive for perfection. Thus may what St. Gregory
Nazianzen said of St. Basil the Great be said of all priests: “A sermon of
Basil’s was like thunder, because his life was like lightening.” (Orat. 20)

3
comments:

Father S.
said...

@ Father,

I recall in the seminary that one priest said, "There is always someone [at Holy Mass] who is one bad sermon away from never coming back." Hyperbole aside, the point was well taken. I often repeat it now to my two permanent deacons as a reminder to all three of us. It is wonderful to see them coming to udnerstand that when they preach from their experience as an authority it is rarely as effective as when they clearly communicate the teaching of Our Lord.

When I was in the seminary, one of the priests who taught a homiletic practicum would forbid the students from self reference; even if you said the word "I" he would shout and stop the homily and make a big scene.

Lots of histrionics from an eccentric professor but more and more I do see his point. I'm amazed how once in a great while if I do make a personal reference, the people can zone in on that like bees to a flower and miss everything else.

I don't think that it has no place at all in a sermon if it can illustrate a point, but it's good for us to remember that the people have for the most part been so badly formed for so long and heard an overwhelming number of insipid, self-referential homilies from priests and deacons that they aren't even wired to know what to do or how to take it when they hear something different.

It can, as you point out, be an even bigger problem with permanent deacons who tend to be a bit older even from the time of their ordination and possess more life experience. They can be compelled to always make "imparting their wisdom" (sic) the starting point or main motive when preaching.

Just a minimal amount of research, thought, and craft can make a world of difference in preaching.